Local Review: Daniel Pimentel – Selfish Songs

Daniel Pimentel
Selfish Songs

Self-Released
Street: 06.15
Daniel Pimentel = Modest Mouse x Blitzen Trapper + Ben Gibbard

Opening with various voicemails about overdue library books and deeply personal fights with friends, Selfish Songs offers a detailed look inside Daniel Pimentel’s life right from the get-go. The album continues to follow this pattern with each song exploring different sounds and themes—see folk-rock tendencies on “Wanderlust” versus the soul-searching contemplativeness of “Alleluia” to the piano-pop ditty in “Light Blues.” Normally, I shy away from artists that attempt such a vast variety of sound, but here it actually works. Each song is a natural progression of the one before it, creating a moderate balance across alternating genres. Definitely worth picking up. –Allison Shephard